As he was accustomed to doing at Alabama, D.J. Fluker is playing football in January. The former prep football standout at McGill-Toolen and Foley will be at right offensive tackle when the San Diego Chargers play the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC playoff game at Paul Brown Stadium at 12:05 p.m. Sunday.

Fluker and the Chargers almost didn't make it. They needed to win their final two games of the regular season while the Miami Dolphins and the Baltimore Ravens lost their final two games. That happened, although in last week's finale against Kansas City, San Diego pulled out a 27-24 victory in overtime after Chiefs place-kicker Ryan Succop missed a 41-yard field-goal attempt with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Fluker didn't watch the kick that might have ended the Chargers' season.

"A lot of people ask what it was like when they missed that field goal," Fluker wrote when he provided the player blog for the Chargers' web site last week. "To be honest with you, I had my eyes closed. I couldn't watch it. But then I opened them, and I saw one of the security guards down there shouting and dancing like crazy, so I knew he missed it. He was excited, and I was excited."

After San Diego pulled out the win in overtime to send Fluker to the playoffs in his rookie NFL season, he said: "There is love everywhere. Enjoy it for 24 hours, then we have to get back to work."

San Diego lost at Cincinnati 17-10 on Dec. 1 as the Bengals held the Chargers to their lowest point total of the season. With former Auburn standout King Dunlap out with an injury, Fluker spent that game at left offensive tackle. Fluker was penalized twice against the Bengals, who sacked San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers twice, hit him five other times and intercepted a pass.

Dunlap has returned to left offensive tackle, allowing Fluker to go back to right tackle.

"Now we have to take care of business in Cincinnati," Fluker wrote. "They're the same team we played last time, and I felt we could have executed better last time. Now we have a second chance to face them, and I am looking forward to it. We kind of know what to expect a bit more from them, so it should be a good game. It's on us to execute better now."

The Chargers have won all four of their games since their loss to the Bengals.